Basketball

Basketball is something that I've done ever since I was little. It's made up a big part of my life growing up, and it's still a good chunk of my life right now. I started playing basketball around the age of 6. I remember going out on my driveway after dinner, just practicing on my dribbling and trying out new things. No matter what I was doing, my goal was just to get better. I don't know why I loved the sport so much at the time, but back then I didn't really care.

I guess my reasoning for it now is partially because of my father. My dad loves basketball with a passion. He used to play in his free time back in China and he even managed to play for his high school team. While growing up my dad would become super excited whenever there was a basketball game on the TV. I remember watching the games with him, while he would comment on the game every now and then about a play. I guess I felt attached to the sport at first sight since this could be the one thing that my dad and I really have in common. So from that point on, I set a goal to keep getting better and better. My new found love for the sport also let me spend some quality time with my dad when I was a child. My parents back then were probably working 10+ hour jobs daily. I wouldn't see them when I woke up to go to school and I barely saw them when they came home late at night. So on the rare days that my dad gets to leave work early I would always ask him to play basketball with me. I remember that I would constantly try to show off to him whenever we would play a game, showing him the new tricks that I taught myself, or how much better my shooting improved. There was one thing that really bugged me about playing against my dad, it was the fact that he would win every single game. No matter how hard I tried, how lucky I got, he would always win. So probably from the age of 8 and beyond I would make new goal to beat my dad at basketball. This was especially tempting because my mom would always taunt me saying things like, "How can a young child like you possibly beat your dad in basketball?". It took me quite some time, but I finally did it a couple years later. I can't really give myself all the credit though because during those times, my dad's health got worse and he was more tired after work. I really miss those moments now. By now my dad is too fragile or tired to play basketball with me. It's not like I would have time either due to schoolwork or other activities. Nevertheless, I miss the father-son time that we used to share. It was the only way I really felt connected to him.

I still play basketball to this day, although maybe not as much as I would like and I'm probably not as motivated by it. For now I just do it as a hobby. I never joined any basketball league or team because I felt like that restricted the game in too many ways. The petty fouls and the occasional travels aren't a big deal when you just play with friends or in a pick-up game. I hope that basketball will remain in my life for the years to come. It's an outlet and a hobby that I appreciate with all my heart.